Freeing the Caged Bird
by The JP
Summary: On Naruto's eighth birthday, an attack from the villagers causes a seal placed on him to deactivate, revealing his true appearance. Now that Naruto has found family, how will his life change? Rated M for blood, NaruxFemHaku
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is my first attempt at a Naruto fanfiction, so I hope it turns out as well as it planned itself out in my head. At the moment, I am unsure of what the main pairing is going to be, only that it will not be NaruXHina, no matter how much I enjoy the pairing, simply due to the nature of the story. I can also tell you that it will **_**not**_** be NaruXSaku… god I hate that pairing. So cast your votes for pairings in your reviews with two rules in mind: (1) The above pairings are not allowed, and (2) NO YAOI!**

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It was October 10th, the anniversary of the night that the Kyuubi no Kitsune had been defeated by the Yondaime Hokage. The villagers of Konohagakure no Sato were celebrating as they usually did, aside from two smaller factions within the village. The first faction was mourning the loss of loved ones that had perished in the fight against the great Nine-Tailed Bijuu. The other faction… was currently chasing after the newly eight-year-old Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

_**Kit. Run.**_

Naruto heard the voice of the Kyuubi speaking to him in his head, telling him to escape from the villagers. He could fight back if he wanted, and easily rend them limb from limb, but that would merely justify their hunt.

Yes, Naruto knew about the Kyuubi no Kitsune. On his sixth birthday, he had been beaten within inches of his life, and to save him the Kyuubi had to bring him into his mindscape and be granted permission to infuse the blond-haired boy with demonic chakra to accelerate the healing. Naruto had cried harder that night than any other night in his life.

In the months to come, Naruto had visited the Kyuubi in his mindscape various times. He had learned great truths about the Bijuu: Kyuubi was actually female, and her name was Megami. The reason for Kyuubi's attack was also nothing like anybody had thought. Megami had returned home to her den that night to find that her kits had been brutally murdered and dissected. The only glimpse she had seen of their killer told her that the man had yellow, snake-like slit eyes, and wore a Konoha forehead protector. In her outrage, Megami succumbed to demonic bloodlust and attacked Konoha in a blind rage. During all the years that she had been sealed inside Naruto, she had tried to repent for her actions, including by training him as she had done for the past two years. Yet there was nothing she could do to stop the beatings, especially those that occurred on his birthday, such as tonight.

Naruto heeded the Kyuubi's words, and ran from the villagers. Somewhere along the line, he had taken a wrong turn and wound up in an abandoned alleyway with nowhere to go. Turning around, the young eight-year-old turned to face the sadistic mob behind him.

"Now you can't go anywhere, you stupid demon! Now we can have our revenge for killing our loved ones eight years ago!" The infuriated, bigoted villager that had said this was wielding what looked to be a broken bottle in his left hand, as well as a rusty knife in his right. "This is for the Yondaime!"

With that, the rest of the mob yelled and charged Naruto. Half a minute later, ANBU and other shinobi that had heard the commotion the mob had caused arrived with the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, among them. But the damage was done. Naruto was covered in various wounds and lacerations, blood soaking his near-threadbare clothing and dying it a horrible red color.

"Naruto," the Hokage said softly, "what have they done to you… I'm sorry." The Hokage bent down to pick Naruto up, but cut his hand on a shard of glass that had imbedded itself in Naruto's skin. Before Sarutobi could react, a small amount of blood fell from his hand onto what for all the world appeared to be a mole. In actuality, it was a miniscule, well-concealed seal that was activated by blood other than Naruto's own.

Sarutobi jumped back in surprise as a cloud of smoke enveloped Naruto before disappearing and leaving a different-looking Naruto. His bright blond hair had turned several shades darker, and was now interspersed with ebony streaks throughout. The familiar whisker marks on his cheeks were gone, and his face bore a far more regal appearance than it previously had. If somebody hadn't known beforehand that this was Naruto, they wouldn't be able to recognize the boy.

Sarutobi drew in a sharp hiss of breath as he realized what had just happened. In his haste, he had accidentally removed a seal that the Yondaime had placed on the boy to modify his appearance and conceal half of his heritage. _This is not good,_ the old man oft called The Professor thought to himself. _I was hoping to tell him after he became a Genin… he's only in his first year at the academy. Oh, Minato… what should I do?_

Sarutobi scooped the unconscious boy up in his arms before turning to the ANBU that were standing behind him. "I want you to go find Hyuuga Hiashi and send him to the Hokage Tower. Tell him it's urgent and an emergency." The Hokage was met with a short chorus of "Hai!" from all of the shinobi present, save for one. The odd shinobi out instantly rushed up to the Sandaime demanding answers.

"Okay old man, what the hell is going on with Naruto-niisan that you have to go and get the _Hyuuga_ bastards involved!" The jounin in question was Mitarashi Anko, one of the only shinobi to form some sort of emotional attachment with Naruto. She had rescued him from a mob of angry villagers when Naruto was four years old, and after Naruto woke up at the hospital and the two of them chatted a bit, they were as close as to brother and sister as could be.

"Well?! Answer me!" Sarutobi shook his head slightly. If anybody else deserved to know the truth, it was Anko. She was one of the few who truly cared for the boy, and may have some input on what to do now that the appearance modification seal that Minato had put on the boy had faded. It was also time for the boy to learn the truth about his parents… and he needed the support of somebody who cared for him.

"Anko, you will come to the Hokage tower as well. After Naruto learns everything that we are about to reveal, he will need somebody to be there for him. What you are going to learn at the tower can be considered an S-class secret, so I trust you to keep the information to yourself." Anko nodded unsurely. There was something more going on that she wasn't privy to, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

* * * * * * *

Naruto awoke to find himself on a comfortable bed and in different clothes than he had been wearing when he lost consciousness. As usual, Megami had healed his wounds, but something about him felt… different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something had changed between the time he had lost consciousness and when he woke up.

_Megami?_

_**Yes Kit?**_ Naruto heard the great demon fox's voice in his mind, which surprisingly was a very pleasant woman's voice, with absolutely no evil or malice in it whatsoever.

_Something's wrong with me, and I don't know what it is. Do you have any idea?_

_**I'm sorry to say Kit but I have no idea. But as for your idea that something is wrong, I would have to disagree with you. If anything, something is right about you that hasn't been these past eight years.**_

Before Naruto could get the chance to ask the Kyuubi what she meant, the door opened to reveal three figures. Two of them he recognized as the Hokage and as Anko-neechan, but the third he hadn't seen before. He was a tall man with long brown hair and pale, white eyes. He wore what appeared to be a brown robe, and had a wooden cane in his hand, despite the fact that he didn't appear to need it. Naruto didn't have the time to ask who he was before the Hokage spoke up first.

"Good evening Naruto. How do you feel?" The Sandaime knew about Naruto's being trained by the Kyuubi. After he'd learned the truth, Naruto had immediately approached his grandfather figure in demand of an explanation. After explaining the truth, Sarutobi had asked Naruto to relay to Megami that he wished for Naruto to primarily be trained in chakra control and strength training, though the millennia-old demoness decided to add genjutsu to that list.

"I guess I feel fine jiji, but something doesn't feel right and I can't put my finger on it…" Naruto looked up and noticed that Anko was staring at him, her mouth slightly agape. "Neechan, what's wrong?"

"Naruto," Sarutobi interrupted, "this man here is Hyuuga Hiashi. He has come here to talk to you about something that he was supposed to tell you about in four years, but the villagers' attack has pushed forward our timetable. You see Naruto, aside from the seal that keeps the Kyuubi in check, the Yondaime also put a seal on you to hide your true appearance, and thus hide your legacy. He did this for your own protection and at Hiashi-sama's request, so that he might save you from the fate that had befallen his brother." By now Naruto was officially confused.

"Old man, what are you talking about, my true appearance?" Anko pointed at a full-length mirror that was in the corner of the room. Naruto rushed over to the mirror and, upon seeing his reflection, let his jaw drop open in shock.

Staring back at him was not the same person that he had been that morning. For one, the whisker marks that had been on each cheek were now gone, leaving him near unrecognizable. His normally bright blonde hair had darkened by a shade or two, and now had streaks of ebony interspersed among his spiky blonde locks. His skin also seemed to be a shade lighter, giving him a more fair appearance. But the most startling change was his eyes.

Where earlier that day Naruto's eyes had been a bright sapphire blue, his eyes were now a pupilless pale white with just a slight tinge of lavender, just like the man named Hiashi that was with the Hokage. Naruto stood staring at his reflection for a good two minutes before a cough from Sarutobi brought his attention back to the trio of shinobi standing in the room.

"My eyes look just like yours! Are you my dad or something?" Hiashi laughed, which was a surprising change from his usually stoic countenance, as well as the slight uncharacteristic smile that graced his face.

"No, Naruto-kun, I am not your father. I am, however, your uncle on your mother's side." Naruto's jaw dropped open before he turned to the Hokage, who just nodded his head. He turned back to Hiashi, who now had a sad look on his features. "I am sorry that I have not been present in your life, Naruto-kun. Every time I tried to take you in, the Hyuuga elders refused my request and thwarted my efforts. I know that this apology can never make up for the pain you have felt in your life, but I hope that it may be my first step towards actively being a part of your life like the uncle I should be. I also wish to begin teaching you in the taijutsu style of the Hyuuga clan, as well as show you how to activate your bloodline limit, the Byakugan."

Naruto was completely floored. Not only did he have a living relative, but also his uncle was willing to teach him a taijutsu style, and he also had a bloodline limit! But there was one thing still bothering him though.

"Ne, Hokage-jiji, if Hiashi-ojisan is my uncle, who were my parents?" Sarutobi's face fell at Naruto's mention of his parents. It was time for Naruto to learn anyways.

"Naruto-kun, before you learn who your parents are, I would like you to know that they both loved you very much. Your father died during the Kyuubi attack, and your mother is comatose due to complications during childbirth. Your mother's name is Hyuuga Hikari, and your father… well…" Sarutobi reached inside a pocket in his robe and pulled out a rather large scroll before handing it to Naruto. "This scroll was left for you by your father. It is closed by a blood seal, meaning only those of immediate relation to the writer can open it. After you read that, Hiashi-sama and I will be waiting in my office. Anko-san, perhaps you would like to stay with him while he reads the scroll?"

Anko nodded her head quickly. Naruto was like the little brother she never had. He would probably need her after all was said and done.

"Very well then, we shall leave you two in peace. Please come us when you two are done Naruto-kun, Anko-san." Sarutobi and Hiashi turned and left, closing the door behind them so that they could give Naruto and Anko some privacy. Anko turned to Naruto with a kunai in hand.

"Well, gaki, the scroll needs your blood to open it up. Shall we?" Naruto nodded vigorously before taking the kunai, slightly cutting his finger, and wiping the blood on the seal. The seal flashed blue once before deactivating, the scroll opening up in the process. Naruto and Anko quickly leaned in closely to read.

_Dear Son,_

_If you are reading this, then I am dead and the Kyuubi has been defeated. As much as I would have liked to be there for you while you grew up, that is not the case. I can only hope that the village has treated you like the hero you are, although I seriously doubt that this is the case._

_Since you are reading this, it is safe to say that either the appearance modification seal I placed on you has faded and you know of your true heritage as a member of the Hyuuga clan. After your mother Hikari fell into a coma, your uncle Hiashi asked me to change your appearance so that you could escape the fate of the Hyuuga Branch family's Caged Bird Seal, a fate which Hiashi's own brother unfortunately could not avoid. _

_Inside this scroll, I have left you the instructions to all of the special jutsus that I have created in my lifetime, as well as instructions on how to remove the Hyuuga Caged Bird Seal and replace it with a different seal that has the same effect, but is instead placed on the dominant shoulder blade of the recipient, and does not contain the same unsavory additions that the Hyuuga elders have added to their seal. I was planning on sharing my findings with Hiashi after you were born, but alas this was not to be._

_Wherever you are now son, I can only hope you have somebody who cares for you. I hope, even though I am not there to witness it, that you grow up to become a powerful shinobi and make a name for yourself. Unfortunately my time is up; the Kyuubi is approaching and I must report to the front lines. Be safe, my son._

_Love,_

_Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato._

By the end of the letter, both Naruto and Anko had tears streaming down their face. Anko was hugging Naruto tightly as he cried into her shoulder, saddened by the fact that his father had had to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune into his own son. However, a grim understanding had come over Naruto when he thought of his father's actions: how could he, the Hokage, ask anybody in his village to make a sacrifice that he himself was unwilling to make?

Naruto and Anko got up off the bed and exited the room, entering the Hokage's office where he and Hiashi were seated. As they came in, Sarutobi straightened in his chair as he took in the looks on the two's faces.

"Well Naruto-kun, what is your reaction?" Sarutobi leaned forward onto his desk, anticipating the newly-dubbed Hyuuga's answer.

"It makes sense. How could my dad ask anybody to make a sacrifice that he himself could not make?" Hiashi and Hiruzen were both shocked speechless at Naruto's response. He had demonstrated a level of wisdom that very few people ever show in their lifetime. "He also included notes on all of his techniques, and also how to remove some Caged Bird Seal. The letter says he wanted to tell you how Hiashi-ojisan, but he didn't get a chance."

Hiashi perked up at the last part, his eyes wide with shock. Namikaze Minato had found a way to remove the Caged Bird Seal that had plagued the Hyuuga family for generations? Maybe now he could remove the seal from his nephew Neji… and possibly repent for some of his actions in the past.

"I see. Naruto-kun, I would like you to show me that part of the scroll as soon as possible. I owe it to the memory of my brother to use the knowledge that your father acquired to make amends for a mistake from my past. Also, I would like you to meet me at training ground forty-four tomorrow so that I may begin training you in the Jyuuken, our clan's taijutsu style, as well as how to activate your Byakugan. I will be bringing your cousin Hinata with me so that you two may train together. Perhaps you can help her with the self-confidence issues that our clan's elders have caused."

Hiashi shook his head at the thought. As much as he detested most of the Hyuuga elders, there was nothing he could do to them.

"That being said, I would also like to create an alias for you so that you can enter the Hyuuga compound whenever you like. To do so we would have to dye your hair to a different color other than your current blond and ebony hair, because somebody may recognize you, and most of the Hyuuga clan is not very… supportive of you, unlike myself. When in that guise, you will go by Hyuuga Hitoshi, who was sent away at a young age to train under a seal master in the hopes of finding an alternative to the caged bird seal." Hiashi pointed at the scroll Naruto held in his hands. "It seems that whatever method Minato listed will suffice to 'prove' your past."

A cough from Sarutobi brought everybody's attention back to the Sandaime. "Now Naruto-kun, we will have to work on a disguise for you so that nobody realizes you are a Hyuuga. If that happens, then there might be a great political backlash in Konoha. For that purpose, I suggest we get you colored contact lenses, since a Henge can be seen through by a skilled enough shinobi. I will see to all of the necessary arrangements, but I would like you to stay in the Hokage tower tonight. If you would like to go to sleep, you may do so now. Good night, Naruto-kun. Happy birthday."

Naruto smiled, and nodded vigorously before returning to the room he had come from. He took off his clothes and crawled into the comfortable bed. He had an uncle who loved him, and a family…

With that thought running through his mind, Naruto succumbed to the peaceful darkness of sleep.

_**Happy birthday, Kit.**_

* * * * * * *

**So how was the first chapter? I've been trying to find stories with premises similar to the one I'm writing, but eventually got fed up and decided to write my own. I find it's a nice deviation from the usual 'Naruto has the Sharingan' or 'Naruto is an Uchiha', as well as the 'Naruto has the ultimate über bloodline'. Those ones are tired premises. There aren't enough stories where Naruto has the Byakugan, is a Hyuuga, or is adopted by Hiashi.**

**Okay, now onto the main purpose of this rant: **_**Pairings Poll!**_** The pairings choices are as follows:**

**NarutoxIno**

**NarutoxFemHaku**

**NarutoxTenTen**

**NarutoxTemari**

**NarutoxFemKyuu**

**NarutoxYugito**

**Please cast your votes for the option which you most want to see. I myself am partial to doing a NarutoxIno story, but I would like to see what you, the readers, think.**

**Oh yeah… Read and Review, onegai (please)!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, here comes chapter two. So far I've received more votes for NarutoxYugito than any other pairing. If I do choose this pairing, I'm going to change Yugito's age so that she and Naruto are the same age. All those who object, please tell me.**

**Anyways, the pairings poll will still go on for a little while, probably until the middle of the Land of Waves arc. So just make sure to get your votes in! Also, please include what you want Naruto's secondary chakra nature to be. The first nature will be wind, so vote for any of the other remaining four.**

**On to the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * * * * * *

When Naruto awoke the next day, he immediately looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. He was about to begin wondering where exactly he was when the memories of the previous day came rushing back to him: the beating by the villagers, waking up in the Hokage tower, seeing his real appearance, learning who his parents were, meeting his uncle…

He remembered then that the old man had been preparing something for him to wear to keep anybody from knowing that he was a Hyuuga. He had said something about things called colored contact lenses, but Naruto didn't know what they were. Were they things that changed his eye color?

Naruto leapt off the bed he was currently laying on and moved back over to the full-length mirror to observe himself again, specifically his eyes. They weren't the icy sapphire-blue he was used to anymore. Instead, he found that he liked the new pearl-like appearance of his eyes. They made him seem like a completely different person… not the hated demon that the villagers saw him as. His new appearance, combined with whatever the old man had in mind, might be able to give him the anonymity he so desired…

Naruto was roused from his musings when he heard the door open. His now pale eyes moved towards the door to see Anko, standing there with Hyuuga Hiashi.

"Hi Anko-neechan, ojisan! Uh, ojisan, I thought we were meeting at training ground, uh…"

"That was the plan, gaki, but we came here to show you how to put on contact lenses. And white-eyes here is gonna show you how to activate your bloodline." Hiashi glared at the purple-haired kunoichi, which she easily ignored. Anko reached into her trenchcoat, and pulled out an object. She held up a small box in her hand and, opening it up, took out a small translucent plastic case.

"Alright gaki, these things are called contact lenses. They're tiny pieces of plastic that we put directly on your eyes to make them look like a different color than they are. I don't want to risk using a henge, because I'm not sure you would be able to hold it all day at the academy. Now come over here, and I'll put them on, then show you how to do it."

What followed was one of the most miserable half-hours of Naruto's, Anko's, and Hiashi's respective lives.

**(A/N: I know from personal experience how much your first time wearing contacts sucks. They are incredibly itchy, and it's nigh on impossible to stop your blink reflex from closing the instant something touches your eyes. Colored contacts are even worse… *shudders*)**

* * * * * * *

Half an hour later, Hiashi had left to go get Hinata to take her to their training area, while Anko was with Naruto, who couldn't stop itching his eyes.

"Cut it out, gaki. If those things fall out and somebody sees your eyes, then they might throw a conniption fit. Also, they're expensive, so STOP RUBBING YOUR DAMN EYES!"

Naruto gulped, and instantly snapped his hands down to his sides, ignoring the rubbing sensation in his ocular organs. He already learned the hard way that making Anko angry was a mistake few people lived to repeat.

"But neechan, they're really itchy! How can anybody wear these things?" Naruto looked up at Anko, the two locking gazes briefly when the kunoichi looked down at her honorary little brother.

The colored contacts were unable to perfectly replicate the icy sapphire-blue that his eyes had been before, simply because while they were very good at disguising something, they simply didn't appear the same as regular eyes. If somebody looked hard enough, they could slightly see through the blue color on the fake iris and catch a glimpse of the lavender beneath, especially if they happened to catch a glance of Naruto's eyes when he looked in a different direction: the contact lenses had a lag of a small fraction of a second when switching the direction he's looking in, but anybody who was observant enough would be able to see what he was wearing.

"You get used to them after a while, gaki. Now be quiet, we're about to go into the training area."

The two of them had walked out of Konoha and towards the fields of the training area, passing all of the regular ones before arriving at a large iron gate. On it there was a sign that read 'Training Area 44: Forest of Death'. Naruto read the sign and gulped.

"Neechan? Why is this place called the Forest of Death?" Anko sighed slightly. It may have been called the Forest of Death, but to her, the place was a freaking playground.

"It's called the Forest of Death because this was one of the first places that the Kyuubi attacked when it came eight years ago. The giant animals, man-eating plants, and all the other nasty things in this forest are because of Kyuubi's demonic chakra mutating them."

_**Kit, would you kindly tell the scantily-clad snake mistress that I don't take kindly to being called an it?**_

"Anko-neechan? Kyuubi says to tell the scantily clad snake mistress that she doesn't like being called an it. Uh… what's scantily-clad mean?"

Anko face-faulted and stopped. Kyuubi was female? More importantly, she had been polite, and was telling her little brother that she was _scantily clad_?! She knew that Naruto was talking with the demon fox; hell, she had spied on Naruto's training sessions when he received instruction from the demon. But _scantily clad_?!

"Naruto," Anko said in a sickeningly sweet voice that promised pain to those who heard it, "would you please tell Kyu-chan that _I_ don't like being called scantily clad, and not to teach you any more words like that? If you become a pervert because of her, you might wake up one morning less of a man."

Naruto winced and grabbed his member, with Megami's laughter echoing in his head. _'Shut up, you stupid furball! Don't get me in any trouble!'_

Naruto received no response. Instead, the boy and his honorary sister entered the training ground and made their way to the pre-ordained meeting place. Anko pulled out the plastic container that the contacts were to be kept in. Naruto nearly cried out in joy.

* * * * * * *

Hyuuga Hinata was not having a good day. Already, she had been insulted by the clan elders during her training, humiliated by her younger sister in a spar simply because she did not wish to harm her, and mocked by her cousin Neji for being, as he said, weak and 'fated to fail'. All she wanted to do was curl up and die so that nobody would be able to hurt her again. She especially didn't want to face her father, afraid that he would think of her as a failure like everybody else in her clan.

So imagine her shock and horror when her father appeared in front of her via Shunshin.

"Hinata. We are going to a training area outside of the Hyuuga compound. Your training partner is already there and waiting for you." Hinata was shocked. Wasn't this the time when her father called her out for being a weak, pitiful failure? What was going on?

"T-tousan, I d-don't think t-that I'm st-strong enough to k-keep training t-today. T-the elders a-already trained m-me, and they s-said that I was w-w-weak and a f-failure. I d-don't deserve t-to be t-trained…" Hinata had to turn away from her father after she finished what she was saying, her pearl-like eyes filling with tears.

Hiashi was stunned. What had the elders been telling his daughter? He knew that they had been belittling her, but he'd had no idea just how bad it was. Had they intentionally been sabotaging her training so that her sister Hanabi would become clan heir instead? It was well known in the clan that Hinata wanted to remove and abolish the Branch family Caged Bird Seal and merge the two houses into one, and it was also well known that the elders were vehemently opposed to the plan. But to stoop so far as to shatter the confidence of a little girl just to achieve their own power-hungry ends?... Hiashi was disgusted.

"Hinata… whatever those elders have been telling you, do not listen to them. They merely fear what will happen if the Caged Bird Seal were ever to be removed from the members of the Branch house. Their power relies on the supposed superiority of the branch house over the main house, and if it were to be removed…" An uncharacteristic grin spread across Hiashi's face. Naruto had given him the information on how to remove the seal while simultaneously replacing it with a different seal that the Yondaime had named the Bloodline Protection seal. It was similar to the Branch family seal in that it protected the secrets of the Byakugan, but the placement was different, it could not be used to cause pain or death, and it also prevented the Caged Bird Seal from being applied.

"Come, Hinata. We are going to the training area. I do not wish to keep your new training partner waiting, since I also have to catch him up on training that should have begun years ago."

"T-tousan? W-who is m-my t-training partner?" Hinata was genuinely curious. Which Hyuuga could her father be talking about if his training was starting so late? Hiashi looked at his daughter and shook his head sadly, remembering those times he had visited Naruto at the hospital after several of the more… vicious beatings.

"While the story we will give to the other members of the Hyuuga clan will be that he was sent away to train under a seal master in the hopes of discovering an alternative to the Caged Bird Seal, which we now have thanks to his father's inheritance, the truth is that his heritage and true appearance were hidden by a seal that repressed his Byakugan and more identifiable physical characteristics. He happens to be one of your classmates at the academy, the only one who is not heir to a clan… or at least, he didn't know he was until last night."

Hinata froze. If she was right… "T-tousan… is it… N-Naruto-kun?" Hiashi nodded, and it took all of Hinata's self control to keep her jaw from dropping. Naruto was a Hyuuga, and had something that could replace the seal on her cousin Neji?

Hiashi chuckled as he saw the state his daughter was in. "Come, Hinata, we mustn't be late. Naruto is probably waiting for us right now." He placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder, and shunshined off to the Forest of Death.

* * * * * * *

Naruto was practicing his chakra control while waiting for his uncle and cousin to arrive. He had been so incredibly glad to take the contacts out of his eyes that Anko had actually needed to grab the first one out of the air so that it didn't fall on the ground. The white-eyed boy had received a nice whack to the head for that one.

Anko was lounging at the base of a tree, flipping a kunai in hand while watching her niisan walk up and down a tree as slowly as he could. Anko knew that despite only being tree walking, it was quite the feat of chakra control: the slower one went up the tree, the more precise the chakra flow had to be to keep oneself adhered, and walking down a tree was exponentially more difficult than walking up because of the pull of gravity trying to drag the shinobi down.

Naruto was ten feet off the ground when he saw a swirl of leaves in the middle of the clearing. He was shocked by the sudden disturbance that as Hiashi and Hinata appeared, the two Hyuugas caught a glimpse of Naruto, who pushed too much chakra to his feet and sent himself rocketing across the clearing due to the chakra spike. The ebony-streaked blond slammed straight into the tree Anko was sitting under, making her toss the kunai much higher than normal and imbed it into the tree branch above her as Naruto fell down onto her lap. Anko rewarded the boy with another bonk to the head.

"You crazy gaki! I nearly threw that kunai at you! Don't do that again or you might wind up less of a man than you were before!" Naruto jumped off of Anko and stood up as if the purple-haired kunoichi were hot lava. Hinata now had a good look at her newly discovered cousin, and gasped when she saw his new appearance.

Naruto's hair had darkened several shades, and had ebony streaks interspersed in his blond locks. The whisker marks on his face that had made him so easily identifiable before were gone, showing his plain cheeks for the first time in his life. His skin had also gotten a few shades lighter, giving him a fair-skinned appearance that more closely matched Hinata herself. The most startling change in Naruto was, naturally, his eyes. Gone were the icy sapphire-blue orbs that she was used to seeing on him. Instead, his eyes were just like any other Hyuuga's: a pearl-like white color, with no visible pupil and a hint of lavender. It stunned her to think that all this time, Naruto had been her relative… and that he had the solution to the Caged Bird Seal that made her other cousin Neji hate her so…

Naruto finally caught sight of Hinata and Hiashi, and waved to the two. "Hi Hinata-chan, hi ojisan!" Naruto ran over to his uncle and cousin, eagerly awaiting his training. He wanted to know how to activate his bloodline limit, as well as begin learning the Jyuuken. He was tired of getting his ass handed to him in every single taijutsu spar at the academy. Hell, even that lazy-ass Shikamaru could hand his ass to him in one or two moves! He had to admit that while he _could_ beat everybody at the academy, Megami wanted him to hide his true potential so that everybody would underestimate him, but it still hurt every time Kiba handed his ass to him and mocked him in front of the entire class.

Hinata finally seemed to snap out of the daze she had found herself in and turned to her newfound cousin. "H-hello N-Naruto-kun. H-how are y-you?"

"I'm feeling great! I can't wait to learn how to use my Byakugan and learn Jyuuken!" Naruto was incredibly energetic and friendly, though Naruto did feel that some part of his personality was changing. He wasn't feeling quite as hyper as before, as though something in his mind had clicked and allowed him to be calm.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Hiashi said, drawing attention to himself and breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the area. "I trust that you are prepared to activate your Byakugan?" Naruto nodded eagerly, a smile plastered on his face. Hiashi's normally stoic features were graced by the smallest of smiles as he gazed upon his nephew. _I will have to teach him some manners soon,_ he thought. _I cannot bring him into the Hyuuga compound with his mannerisms and actions in such an informal state. The clan elders would recognize him for who he is immediately. _

"Now, Naruto-kun, listen closely. To activate the Byakugan, you will need to channel your chakra to the pathways around your eyes, beginning in small amounts, and slowly increasing. I trust you have completed several exercises in chakra control?"

Naruto nodded. "Hai ojisan, I've done tree walking and water walking, and I'm working on kunai balancing." Hiashi opened his pale eyes wide at this statement. To be doing such control exercises at his age… who had been teaching his nephew for the years that he had been absent?

"That is… interesting news. Now, I am going to show you a series of hand seals. They will help you focus your chakra to help you activate the Byakugan. Watch closely." Hiashi slowly flipped through several hand seals, before finally finishing and shouting out "Byakugan!" The effect was instantaneous. The veins and chakra pathways around his eyes bulged out, and what appeared to be a small, barely visible circle appeared in his eyes where a pupil would normally be present. Hiashi dropped his hands and deactivated his Byakugan, letting his eyes return to normal as the veins receded. He looked at Naruto, the expression on his face prompting the boy to try.

Naruto took a deep breath, his hands flipping through the seals that his uncle had showed him. Landing on the last seal, Naruto shouted out "Byakugan!" and surprisingly enough, he activated the doujutsu.

Naruto was reeling from the sensation. In a single instant, his field of vision had increased to 360 degrees, save for a small blind spot at some point behind his head. He could see everything in the entire clearing with a clarity and sharpness that wasn't present before. When he focused on a single detail, like a bird that was chirping on the branch of a tree, he could feel his vision zooming in, and strangely enough he was able to see _inside_ of the small bird. He winced as he saw the internal damage done when Anko got annoyed at the bird and flung a senbon at the little animal, skewering it.

He returned his attention back to Hiashi, and to his amazement he could _see_ his uncle's chakra. For the briefest fraction of a second, he saw multiple small points on his uncle's skin light up, each point smaller than a pinprick, but visible nonetheless. Megami had been teaching him anatomy during his lessons with her; he could only guess that the small pinpricks were the 'tenketsu' that she had told him about, the chakra openings in a person's body.

Hiashi clapped slightly when he saw Naruto's accomplishment, while Hinata merely stared in awe. It had taken Hiashi at least ten attempts to activate his Byakugan, and Hinata had attempted over thirty times. And yet, here was Naruto, and he had activated it on his first attempt, which compared with Neji's three was incredible.

"Good job, Naruto," Hiashi stated, watching as the veins around Naruto's eyes receded and the Byakugan deactivated. "It seems that we may have the new Genius of the Hyuuga Clan."

* * * * * * *

**Okay, at the moment the results of the pairings poll are as such:**

**NaruxFemHaku: 2**

**NaruxFemKyuu: 2**

**NaruxTema: 1**

**NaruxTenTen: 2**

**NaruxYugito: 2**

**NaruxIno: 1**

**Right now, it's all pretty much tied up. If you submitted a review but didn't cast a vote, please feel free to vote. If you already voted once, please do not vote again. **

**Also, don't forget to vote for Naruto's secondary chakra nature:**

**Doton**

**Raiton**

**Suiton**

**Katon**

**I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Read & Review, please!**

**--Electroclasm**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, well the most recent poll results are all in, and I've decided to stop the pairings poll for a single, important reason:**

**FemHaku won in a landslide victory.**

**Now that makes me happy, because my two favorite pairings in Naruto fanfic are NaruHina and NaruFemHaku. But this also works out because the winner of Naruto's secondary chakra nature is…**

**Suiton.**

**Yep, I'm gonna let Naruto learn how to use Hyouton techniques from Haku. Now, if any of you can get the implication I'm letting on involving Hyouton, Byakugan, and Jyuuken, then you get a cookie. Here's your hint: Daibakuha.**

**Anyways, on with the chapter!**

* * * * * * *

Naruto made his way into Anko's apartment, angered that the trenchcoat-wearing Jounin wouldn't let him go back to his own apartment that night. She said that she'd needed him to be close so that she could teach him how to properly disguise himself so that he could walk around town with his alternate identity. After Naruto's first training session with his Byakugan and the Jyuuken (during which Hiashi admonished that he had not expected Naruto to pick up the style as quickly as he had, nor for Hinata's self-confidence to rise immensely when she saw her cousin training), the four of them had worked hard on creating Naruto's alias that he would use around town or if he needed to enter the Hyuuga compound.

_Flashback no Jutsu…_

Hinata was lying on the ground, sucking in air as if it was running out. Naruto was winded for about fifteen seconds before he was back up and ready to keep going, making a single identical thought run through the thoughts of the other three people in the Forest of Death.

_Stamina freak…_

Hiashi was incredibly impressed with Naruto. He had picked up the basics of the Jyuuken even faster than his other nephew Neji had, when by all accounts, if his file at the Academy was any suggestion, he should have been struggling with even the most basic of kata. It made him wonder what the teaching standards were at the Ninja Academy, and then another thought struck him. Something about the situation seemed all too similar to his daughter's. _Are the teachers at the academy intentionally sabotaging my nephew's education the way the clan elders are attempting to sabotage my daughter's?... Well no more. I will have to have a… 'talk' with all of the teachers at the academy._

Little did anybody know that in two short days, Hyuuga Hiashi's name around the academy would be 'White-Eyed Justice'. The one academy that would call him a demon-lover would be found the next day, his liquefied brain oozing out of his ears from the strongest Jyuuken strike to the head anybody had ever seen.

Anko broke the silence for everybody.

"You know, since we're all here, we should think up a fake identity for the gaki here." The purple-haired Kunoichi pointed at where the now white-eyed boy was going through the Jyuuken katas in an effort to perfect them so he could learn more.

"That would be wise. With Hinata here, we will have another witness to back up the story."

"A-ano? Otousan? W-what do you m-mean, f-fake identity? W-why would N-Naruto-kun need a f-fake identity?" Hiashi smiled at his daughter. She was understandably confused; the young girl couldn't possibly find any reason for her cousin to need a false identity.

"Yes, Hinata, a false identity. Naruto will need a cover story should he wish to visit the Hyuuga compound, for several reasons. For one, his mother, my sister and your aunt Hikari, was somewhat of a maverick amongst the Hyuuga clan."

Hinata looked confused, when Anko piped up.

"It means she had her own way of doing things, and not everyone liked it." Then, more quietly, "stuck up elders need to take those ten-foot poles out of their asses." Hiashi stifled a snort; it would not right for the head of the Hyuuga clan to laugh at such a crude comment, despite being in informal company.

"There were two other reasons," Hiashi continued, "but only one of which is mine to tell. The other is an S-class secret and it is Naruto's choice who knows. It's not something that he enjoys talking about, so rest assured he will tell you when he's ready. As for the former of those reasons… Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato, better known as the Yondaime Hokage…" Hiashi paused as he heard a gasp from Hinata. He could only guess the thoughts running through her head. Naruto finally finished up with the several kata he had learned today, and came to sit down with everybody. Hinata looked over at her cousin with a look of awe one her face that just confused the white-eyed, blond-haired boy further.

"As I was saying, Naruto's father was intent on changing the Hyuuga clan for the better, and had mine and Hikari's help in doing so. I supplied all the information on the Caged Bird Seal that I could without the elders getting suspicious, and Hikari's reputation of kindness and the respect she carried with the Branch family gave Minato the information he needed to remove the seal, and replace it with a better one. Unfortunately, before Minato could document the information anywhere other than the scroll now in Naruto's possession… Kyuubi attacked."

Hiashi as of yet did not know that Megami **(A/N: Kyuubi's real name in my fic for those who don't remember)** had attacked Konoha seeking retribution on Orochimaru, nor that she had done so out of mother's grief, so Megami was quiet in the back of Naruto's mind, reminding herself to find some way to communicate with those outside of the seal.

"Because of the two reasons mentioned, and the third reason that I am not allowed to say, Naruto would not be very welcome around the Hyuuga compound, even with my blessing. Therefore, we are going to create a false persona for Naruto to use within the Hyuuga compound and around town. Anko, I presume you have the necessary supplies to alter his appearance?"

The kunoichi nodded. "A lot of people didn't recognize him when we were walking through the streets on the way here. All I need to do is dye and straighten his hair, and nobody will be able to tell it's him even if he had a blinking neon sign on top of him that said 'My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage'."

Hiashi thought about it. He also remembered asking his brother-in-law to add one last thing to the appearance seal…

"Naruto." The white-eyed bow looked over to his uncle, confusion written on his face. "Have you noticed that since yesterday, your personality has been changing?"

Naruto frowned for a few seconds, as in deep thought. A grimace crosses his face, confusing all present. What they didn't know was that Megami had made a comment about how taking off the seal had made him smarter, and was now rolling around in Naruto's mindscape.

"Actually… yeah, I have. I feel calmer, like I can actually sit still. And when I look at things, I'm really thinking about what they mean and if there's anything else there. I also feel… I don't know… proud?"

Hiashi was right. Naruto's personality was changing because of the removal of the appearance seal. It had made him, for all intents and purposes, a mini-Yondaime. _Pity the villagers never saw that_, he thought solemnly.

"That is a boon and a problem at the same time. It is a boon because when disguised, nobody will recognize you because of your looks and personality, but it is also a problem because the personality that people have come to relate with 'Uzumaki Naruto' is now nothing more than a mask. I hope you are good at acting, Naruto, because you're going to have to do a lot of it. Nobody can know of your heritage, not until you are a Genin. Even then, you are only to tell your teammates and Jounin sensei. I will let you reveal your heritage as a Hyuuga when the time comes for you to take the Chuunin exams. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto nodded, worry etched into his features.

"Now then, the name of your alias will be Hyuuga Hitoshi…"

_Flashback no Jutsu Kai!_

Naruto opened the door, and immediately upon closing it, pulled out the contact lens case, pulled the thin films of plastic that made his eyes appear as they were before out of his eyes, and placed them I the case, happy that the horrible itching sensation was gone.

"Man, I don't ever want to use those again…"

"Get used to it gaki. Now get over here, I'm gonna show you how to use this hair dye."

Naruto looked around for an escape route. Not finding one, he sighed in defeat, and accepted his fate.

* * * * * * *

The following Monday found Naruto going to the academy with his new appearance showing, aside from the contact lenses covering his eyes. His hair was still the ebony-streaked dark blonde that it had become three days prior, and the whisker marks were no longer present on his cheeks. His skin was also a few shades lighter than before. Naruto was slightly worried that somebody would see the slight lag of the contact lenses when he turned his eyes and catch a glimpse of the white iris underneath, but Anko assured him the fear was unfounded. He trusted his surrogate sister, but he couldn't help but be worried.

As Naruto neared the academy, he saw Hinata and Hiashi waiting for him outside. Slightly confused that Kurenai hadn't escorted Hinata, Naruto asked Hiashi what was going on.

"Naruto, I'm not sure you've realized it but I think somebody might be trying to sabotage your education at the academy, much like the clan elders are trying to sabotage Hinata's training back at the clan district. Therefore, I am here to investigate my theory, and the Hokage has granted me permission to act upon my findings as I see fit."

Hiashi's voice was incredibly cold, even colder than Naruto had thought it could be. He was incredibly glad that he was on his uncle's good side, because from what little he'd seen of the Hyuuga clan head's bad side, Naruto never, _ever_ wanted to see the full extent of the man's wrath.

"A-ano, N-Naruto-kun? Class is s-starting soon, we should h-hurry." Hinata's nervous stutter was not quite as noticeable as it had been prior to the weekend and discovering that Naruto was her cousin. Even knowing him for such a small amount of time had improved the soon to be eight year old Hyuuga heiress' self-confidence and self-worth.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head before looking at the clock, and realized Hinata was right. Class was going to start in 5 minutes! Naruto grabbed Hinata by the wrist and dragged her inside, dashing right past two bickering fangirls.

* * * * * * *

Haruno Sakura was having a bad day. In fact, it was a _very_ bad day.

First, her alarm clock had malfunctioned, waking her up an hour before she actually needed to if she wanted to get to the academy on time.

Next, when she went to take a shower, she found out that there had been a problem with the water heater the night before that hadn't been resolved, and dashed out of the shower, freezing cold and soaking wet.

After she finally suffered through the cold shower, Sakura's blow dryer short-circuited as she was drying her hair, and the rosette had to borrow her mother's. The older woman had not been happy, and Sakura had to buy the new hair dryer on her own allowance.

When she was done with that, she found out that her dashing out of the cold shower before had splattered water all over her homework from the night before, forcing her to redo it in the extra hour when the homework had taken her a little over an hour the night before.

Sakura went down for breakfast next, only to discover that the refrigerator had come unplugged somehow the night before, spoiling all of the food inside it. So she'd had to go out and get some breakfast elsewhere.

And then, right on cue, Yamanaka Ino came out of her flower shop just as Sakura was passing by it.

Of course, the two got into a bickering match about 'their' precious Sasuke-kun that continued until they got to the academy.

"Sasuke-kun would never go out with a stupid shallow pig like you!"

"And what about you? He's more likely to use your forehead as advertising space than kiss you!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Billboard-brow!"

"Dumb blonde!"

"Forehead!"

Just as Ino finished with her last insult, the two of them saw a figure rushing past them, Hyuuga Hinata in tow. A soft chuckling was heard, and they turned their heads to see Hyuuga Hiashi standing there. Both the girls' blood ran cold; neither of them wanted to get on the bad side of the clan leader, and Sakura was now shivering at the smile that was only half amusement on Hiashi's face. The other half was one that promised pain… but to who, Sakura didn't know.

Ino, however, had stared long and hard at the blur that had rushed past them. The blur had blond hair streaked with ebony, fair skin, but there was one thing that identified him… those sapphire-blue eyes.

_That was… Naruto? There was no orange jumpsuit! And what did he do to his hair? He looked kinda… hot._

Ino immediately gave herself a mental slap at that last comment.

_No! Sasuke-kun is the only one for me! No matter how you look at him, Naruto is still the dobe and the dead-last!_

Ino really had no idea just how wrong she was, and how much more she would be wrong in the coming years.

* * * * * * *

Hiashi Hyuuga wasn't exactly a family man.

Being the clan head of the Hyuuga clan, the largest and most influential clan in Konoha, he'd had to put the well being of his clan over the well being of his immediate family. To do this job, he wore a mask of cold indifference whenever anybody was around, and always thought in the _clan's_ best interest with every choice he made, even if he knew he would regret the effects it would have on his immediate family later. As such, he'd had much less involvement in Hinata's training than he had wanted. He had spent a long time talking with Hinata the night before about her training, and she informed him that the elders and other clan members who trained her only treated her properly when Hiashi was around. The instant he left, the elders would berate Hinata horribly, ridiculing her form even when it was a picture-perfect Jyuuken stance.

It had taken all of his self-control to not dash the brains of every single member of the Hyuuga council, and he had nearly gone to Sarutobi to request permission to execute them. However, his rational mind had caught up with him in time to plan out a better course of action. He would have his revenge on them by introducing the new seal to the Hyuuga clan eventually, preferably after Neji was the first member of the Branch family to have the Caged Bird Seal removed and have the new seal placed on him.

His ultimate revenge involved the council members and the Caged Bird Seal. He would brand all of them with the seal, and then cause all of them agonizing pain before their deaths. The irony would be delicious: being destroyed by that which gave them their power in the first case. He hoped to Kami that Shinigami-sama wouldn't let them off lightly with their punishments.

However, now was not the time for such thoughts. Currently, he was using his Byakugan to observe the classroom proceedings at the academy, and to observe how the staff treated Naruto. The vast majority of the staff treated him with indifference, having nothing to do with him and having never been pranked by the ebony-streaked blond. But the teachers that did have contact with him were a different story.

One of the teachers, one Nakamura Homura, had told one of Naruto's two current teachers, Umino Iruka, that he pitied the man because he had to teach the 'bastard demon'. Iruka, to his credit, had responded angrily, and looked to be resisting the urge to throw a shuriken at his coworker. Unfortunately for Homura, Hyuuga Hiashi had read his lips, and knew every word he had said.

When the students went outside for their taijutsu training, Naruto, to keep up his disguise and mask his Hyuuga heritage, joined the group learning the basic academy style. While the Chuunin teaching them helped the majority of the students with their kata, the man instead criticized Naruto even when the boy's form was perfect. Hiashi grimaced from where he was spying on the proceedings. The man had to be dealt with.

Next, at the weapon range, Hiashi was disgusted further at his nephew's treatment. Every student other than Naruto was given freshly sharpened kunai and shuriken, and shown the error in their methods. The Uchiha survivor was being lauded with such ridiculous amounts of praise that it made Hiashi sick. Meanwhile, Naruto was given weapons that would get a shinobi killed on whichever mission they were on. The kunai he was given wouldn't have been able to block the strike from a bandit's weapon without shattering, and the shuriken were so dull Hiashi doubted they could pierce skin, much less the wooden training log Naruto was practicing against.

When the instructor came around to check Naruto's work, Hiashi was relieved to see that it was Iruka who was inspecting Naruto's work. The man seemed surprised that all of Naruto's weapons were just sitting uselessly at the base of the training log, and seemed just as surprised and, if it were possible, even more disgusted than Hiashi at the state of the weapons. Iruka had then replaced all of the weapons Naruto was given with freshly sharpened ones, and watched Naruto's performance. The Chuunin was astounded when Hiashi's nephew connected with each and every weapon, with all of them aimed at a vital point that would mean instant death in combat.

The Hyuuga clan head did not miss the look of suspicion that crossed Iruka's face at Naruto's performance. Hiashi could practically see the gears in Iruka's head turning… actually, thanks to his Byakugan, he could if he wanted to, but gray matter just wasn't interesting enough for him to look at to warrant much of his time.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful; that is, aside from what Hiashi saw when the class got back a quiz from the week prior. Hiashi saw that the questions that his nephew's quiz asked were questions that not even a Chuunin was expected to know how to answer, and when he compared it to his daughter's test his suspicions were only confirmed: Naruto was being deliberately sabotaged by the academy teachers.

When school let out that day, Hiashi was surprised to see Anko there to pick Naruto up. He approached the purple-haired kunoichi and told her of his intentions. After hearing of his discoveries, Konoha's snake mistress and torture specialist wanted in, and Hiashi was all too happy to oblige.

* * * * * * *

After a few more minutes of waiting, Hiashi and Anko both turned when the doors opened, and noticed Hinata and Naruto come out the doors.

"Hi Anko-neechan!" the blond boy said loudly, but nowhere near the volume of two days prior. Then, in a much softer voice, "hi Hiashi-ojisan. Uh, ojisan, what are you doing here? I thought Kurenai-chan usually brought Hinata too and from school. What gives?"

Hiashi and Anko both gave smiles that reeked of evil. Hinata and Naruto shivered.

"Oh, nothing otouto. Would you be a dear and take Hinata with you back to my apartment? You should go use that one-time hair dye and go around town a bit. I'm sure you want to take off those contacts, too."

While Naruto certainly enjoyed going around town without getting the glares, he was starting to get suspicious, especially after hearing Anko's 'I'm going to hurt somebody' tone.

"Neechan, what are you up to?" Anko gave that sickeningly sweet smile again, though anybody could see the anger in the purple-haired kunoichi's eyes.

"Something that should have been done a long time ago." She left it at that, and the two young Byakugan wielders couldn't help but gulp at what wasn't being said.

* * * * * * *

Anko and Hiashi waited for the cousins to leave before entering the Academy, planning out their targets.

"Well, white-eyes? Who do we get to hurt?" Hiashi noted the eagerness in Anko's voice. He too was eager to enact this revenge for his cousin, and to set a standard for the punishment that befell those who wronged Namikaze Hyuuga Naruto, or any member of the Hyuuga clan.

"The targets are Nakamura Homura, Sakoshita Ryuu, and Katashiro Kaoru. They are his former teacher, the Academy taijutsu instructor, and the Academy weaponry instructor, respectively. Which one do you want, because I have already laid claim to Homura; his treatment of my nephew deserves punishment."

Anko thought for a second before deciding.

"I'll take the weaponry instructor. Let's see how he likes having a snake shoved down his throat!" Anko said this with glee, and Hiashi shivered. He thought his vengeance was bad…

"We shall have to inform Hokage-sama about not having three instructors tomorrow. He will need to replace them with… competent staff." In truth, Hiashi had already made arrangements for two of the instructors. One member of the Hyuuga Branch house, one Hyuuga Hitashi, enjoyed learning other taijutsu styles other than the Jyuuken, and was rather inventive with combining what he learned with the Jyuuken to form a style all his own. The man was not yet ready to take the Jounin exams, however, and had agreed to take the position of taijutsu instructor at the Academy, especially having seen for himself the standards the Academy had for its taijutsu lessons.

He had also asked Kurenai if she would mind teaching at the Academy for a bit, specifically teaching Naruto's class and moving Mizuki to teach a different class. The woman had no problems with Naruto; in fact, she was one of his few supporters in the village. She did not yet know of his Hyuuga heritage, but Hiashi already had plans in motion for Kurenai to be Naruto's and Hinata's Jounin sensei once they graduated. As for the weaponry instructor… Sarutobi was on the lookout for one.

With a silent nod, Hiashi and Anko entered the Academy. Punishment was to be meted out.

* * * * * * *

Hyuuga Hiashi first sought out Sakoshita Ryuu, the Academy's taijutsu instructor. He found the man sitting at his desk, reading a book and sipping some tea. When the man looked up and saw Hiashi, he dropped his teacup, immediately stood up from his desk, and in the process slipped on the tea and fell. Hiashi wanted to laugh at the man's misfortune, but restrained himself. He had justice to dole out.

"H-H-Hyuuga-sama! W-what brings y-you here?" The man was understandably nervous. Being approached by the head of Konoha's most powerful clan tended to do that to somebody.

"I have come to talk to you about the treatment of one of your students, one Uzumaki Naruto." At the mention of Hiashi's nephew, Ryuu sneered. He thought that the Hyuuga wanted him to punish the boy, and he would gladly oblige.

"Alright, Hyuuga-sama. So, how do you want me to torment the demon brat?"

A vein bulged in Hiashi's forehead. Inside his mouth, he was gritting his teeth together.

"Allow me to rephrase that. I have come to talk to you about the treatment of one of your students, one _Namikaze Hyuuga Naruto_, my _nephew_." Hiashi activated his Byakugan, and settled into a Jyuuken stance. Sakoshita Ryuu was so horrified at this point that he lost control of his bowel movements, and other bodily functions, as noticed by the dark stain on the front of his pants and the brown splatter on his rear.

"I-I d-don't know w-what you're t-talking about! I n-never d-did anything t-to the b-boy! Honest!" Hiashi merely approached closer, letting his killing intent leak out. The Chuunin instructor was now frozen in place from the force of his killing intent.

"Do not lie to me. I saw your crimes against my nephew during his taijutsu lesson. He could have easily defeated you in a taijutsu spar; however, I have ordered Namikaze Hyuuga Naruto to hide his true potential. The only reason I am telling you about my nephew's identity is because you will not live to tell anybody."

Before the man could react to this information, Hiashi had rushed towards the man and, in a blink of an eye, sent a Jyuuken strike directly at the man's heart, shredding the organ and killing the man where he lay. Blood dripped out of the man's mouth and onto the floor, creating a small red pool where he lay on the floor. His first task done, he searched out Nakamura Homura, intent on meeting out a worse vengeance on that one.

* * * * * * *

Nakamura Homura did not enjoy his job. In fact, he loathed it. He wanted to be out there with other Chuunin, taking on missions and the like, and possibly even taking the Jounin exams. However, because his elemental affinity had never presented itself, he had been relegated to the role of Chuunin instructor at the Academy, as he had been for the past eight years. He had considered himself lucky that he had gotten out of teaching the demon brat. Now, however, in the last few minutes of his life, he would come to regret that decision.

Homura's door opened to show the form of Hyuuga Hiashi, who had a stoic look set in his features. However, when one stared at his white eyes, they could see the righteous fury hidden in those eyes. Homura didn't notice it, and instead wondered what the Hyuuga clan head required of him.

"Ah, Hyuuga-sama, I was not expecting your company," Homura said, bowing as low as he could, which only irked Hiashi immensely. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I wish to speak about your treatment of one Uzumaki Naruto. I do not believe that you have treated him as well as you should have."

Homura was stunned. The Hyuuga clan head supported the _demon_?

"You actually support it? What are you, a demon lover? That creature needs to be executed; if it wasn't punishable by death I would do it myself!" Homura staggered as Hiashi's killing intent filled the room. The man, now whimpering, looked up into Hiashi's furious eyes, and the man's activated Byakugan gave him a look that promised anybody who saw him a painful death.

"I believe I must rephrase my statement. I wish to punish you for your inadequate treatment of my _nephew_, one _Namikaze Hyuuga Naruto_."

"T-that c-can't be t-t-true! T-the demon brat c-could never b-be a Hyuuga, or t-the Y-Yondaime's l-legacy!" The man shit his pants like Ryuu had before him when Hiashi settled into a Jyuuken stance, and pissed himself due to the pressure of the killing intent, finding it hard to breathe.

"Your death shall serve as an example to all those who would harm anybody close to the Hyuuga. Namikaze Minato was my closest friend, and my nephew should not be treated as such. Prepare yourself for the worst pain you have ever imagined."

Hyuuga Hiashi sprung forward, closing every single tenketsu point on the man's body in a matter of seconds, while also jabbing several important nerve clusters and pressure points to remove feeling in the man's limbs, preventing all motion. Hiashi quickly performed a privacy jutsu that prevented anybody from hearing what went on in the room.

"I am now going to re-open your tenketsu, one by one. Doing so causes extreme, agonizing pain, and after you pass out from the pain I shall wake you up so that you continue to feel it. Consider this your punishment for all the years you have harmed my nephew. I have seen you on the nights he was beaten, and you were always a member of those mobs." Hiashi's voice had no emotion whatsoever. It was cold as ice, and each word was a nail in Nakamura Homura's coffin.

Hiashi proceeded to re-open the tenketsu on Homura's body one by one, starting with the least painful and making his way to the most painful. The man passed out from the pain eleven times in total, and once Hiashi had re-opened all of the man's tenketsu, he struck the man with a Jyuuken strike to the forehead. The chakra emitted from his palm shredded the man's brain before liquefying it, and Hiashi watched with grim satisfaction as his brain oozed out of his ears.

Hiashi removed a kunai from within his robes, and sliced open his hand. He moved over to the walls of the room, and painted a message on the wall:

Let this man serve as an example: All those who harm Uzumaki Naruto and any others under the protection of the Hyuuga clan will meet a similar fate.

Content that his work was accomplished, Hiashi left the academy building and waited out front for Anko to finish her work.

* * * * * * *

Katashiro Kaoru was sharpening the weapons he used to teach his class, leaving a select few completely and utterly ruined ones aside for the demon brat to use. Those weapons were unfit to even be melted down as scrap metal and re-forged into something else, and yet he gave them to Uzumaki Naruto to use for his weapon training. It made Anko sick.

Said purple-haired kunoichi fired off a kunai so that it landed right in front of Kaoru, the act of which made the man look at Anko's direction. As soon as he realized who was standing in front of him, he promptly pissed himself.

Anko's reputation as a torture expert was even more widespread than her reputation as the 'Hebi-bitch', in that every single person in Konoha knew the depths of the pain she could cause. For her to be visiting him…

"Hello, Kaoru-kun," Anko said in her most sickeningly sweet voice, one she used whenever she tortured people. The voice promised horrifying pain in the immediate future. Katashiro Kaoru shit his pants then and there.

"I'm here to tell you that I don't like how you treat my otouto, Naruto-kun. That, and I'm here to torture and kill you for it. Don't bother telling the ANBU on me; old man Hokage gave me his permission."

Kaoru tried to run, but he was caught by Anko's snake-hand jutsu, and was held on the ground by several summoned snakes. Anko summoned a large python, and directed it towards Kaoru's mouth. She forced open his mouth, and the snake slithered down his throat, cutting off his ability to speak. It had slithered down in a way that still allowed for breathing, however, and he could feel the snake inside of his stomach.

"Now, let's get started, shall we?"

Anko pulled out several senbon, and jammed them all into major nerve clusters, causing the Chuunin to arch his back in pain. Anko's grin threatened to split her face; the pain had only just begun.

* * * * * * *

Hiashi and Anko met back outside and nodded at each other, content with their work. After Anko had finished with the man, Katashiro Kaoru was laying on the Academy training field disemboweled, eviscerated, and with the shed skin of a large snake shoved down his throat. Apparently the python had shed its skin while inside Kaoru, and was making its way through his intestinal tract, as could be seen by the horribly enlarged intestines that littered the training field. Anko had written a similar message to Hiashi's in her own blood, this time on the wall surrounding the Academy training field. The two of them nodded, and Anko smiled.

"I hope old man Sarutobi has that new weaponry teacher picked out. I can't wait to tell Kure-chan what I got to do today!"

* * * * * * *

Halfway across town, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a monstrous sneeze, firing a Katon jutsu out of his mouth at his paperwork because he 'accidentally' made hand seals while sneezing. Resisting the urge to jump for joy, the Hokage instead reached into his desk and pulled out the latest edition of his student's novel series, Icha Icha Paradise. He reached into his desk and grabbed out a box of tissues as a nosebleed started to develop on his face.

* * * * * * *

**Wow, this one is much longer than the previous two chapters; guess I got a little carried away typing about Hiashi killing them brutally. I didn't type up Anko's, simply because I think it will be more fun for you to fill in the mental pictures yourself.**

**Anyways, with Naruto's secondary chakra nature decided as Suiton, and the pairing decided as NaruFemHaku, the next thing I would like to ask you all about is this:**

**I was thinking of having Anko go along with Naruto and his team in the Land of Waves story arc. Who agrees with this decision? Who disagrees?**

**Agrees: 1 (me)**

**Disagrees: 0**

**Send in your votes. Until next time, enjoy!**

**-Electroclasm**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I hate to do this to everybody, but I feel that now is time for a rant.**

**I appreciate reviews. I really do. But I have a very big problem with reviews that simply say something like "good chapter", or "I like this" or "update soon", or pretty much anything that consists of anywhere between a mere 1-5 words. Therefore, I have a request for you, the readers:**

**If you want to submit a review to my story please point out:**

**At least one thing you like about the story/my writing.**

**At least one thing you don't like about the story or my writing/something that doesn't make sense and needs clarification.**

**There are currently maybe… one or two reviewers who have done that so far. To those who have, I thank you; to those who haven't, either write an actual freaking review, or don't review at all. I know this seems a little harsh, but it's a waste of my inbox space if all you do is write something that doesn't even come close to a critique.**

**But anyways, my rant is done. If any of you have figured out what I was leading you on to when I mentioned Hyouton nature chakra, Juken, and the Byakugan, congrats to you. If not, here's another hint: One of the main aspects of Juken is pushing your own chakra into somebody else's body. Go from there…**

**Also, if I'm spelling anything wrong, please tell me ASAP; I'm fairly certain I was misspelling Juken by spelling it Jyuuken. Now, on with the story!**

* * * * * * *

_**Four Years Later**_

A little over four years had passed since Naruto had learned of his heritage as a member of the Hyuuga clan and a possessor of the Byakugan, as well as the son and legacy of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. In that time, many aspects of Naruto's life had improved greatly, some of them improving so much that he would never have guessed it if it he hadn't actually experienced it.

The first thing of note is the way he was treated around town. After what Anko and Hiashi had done at the Academy four years ago (namely, torturing and killing the three worst offendors in terms of sabotaging Naruto's time at the Academy), the villagers and citizens of Konoha had tended not to avoid doing anything that might put them on the 'shit list' of the village's resident 'demon brat', if only as a method of self-preservation against whatever had happened at the Academy. The village council had found itself at a loss as to what had happened when none of the merchants or restaurant owners ever came to them with a complaint about Naruto stealing their wares, or damaging their merchandise. A direct result of this was the disintegration of the 'fund' that had built up to repay the merchants that had formerly made these claims, when in actuality most of these claims had merely been the result of accidents and mistakes made at work.

Another event that was noticed at the council meeting, especially among the clan heads, was that Naruto's grades and skills in the ninja Academy had apparently gone skyrocketing as a direct result of the events at the Academy. Many of the clan heads were led to believe that either Naruto had been holding himself back so as not to be noticed, or that his efforts were being sabotaged by some of the more bigoted Academy employees. The latter hypothesis, proposed by Aburame Shibi, was later confirmed when Anko brought evidence to the council, namely in the form of comparing the tests given to Naruto with the tests given to Uchiha Sasuke, along with the practice weapons that had been given to Naruto.

The evidence didn't stop Haruno Akira, the Haruno clan head, from shrieking like the pink-haired banshee she was that the 'demon' had bewitched the other council members. She proceeded to say that he needed to be executed, which was then countered with Danzo suggesting for what must have been the four hundredth time that Naruto be taken into his ROOT program and be made into a weapon for Konoha's use. Sarutobi shot down his plan once again, and also secretly set Anko on any ROOT ANBU that happened to be around Konoha at the time. Needless to say, Danzo found a significant lack of forces the next day.

In every following council meeting, Haruno Akira would take up half the meeting yelling about how Naruto would be executed; that is, until Yamanaka Inoichi, who was finally fed up with her bigotry, used his clan's Shintenshin no Jutsu to take over Akira's body and force her to do some rather embarrassing actions, such as strip down to her undergarments and dance around the room. Every following council meeting, she was noticeably quieter, but that didn't eliminate the need for Nara Shikaku to make the pink-haired banshee stick her fist in her mouth via his Kagemane no Jutsu.

During all of these meetings, nobody noticed that Hiashi was wearing clothing with a higher collar to cover the shit-eating grin he wore.

The other major change in Naruto's life and also the lives of every Academy student came in the form of the new teachers that had replaced the three who had been so brutally 'brought to justice,' as Hiashi and Anko put it. Their executions were so brutal, in fact, that images of their deaths were shown to Academy students to help harden them and prepare them for the reality of being a shinobi.

The new weapons instructor, one Higarashi Raiga, was selected only partially because he was one of Naruto's supporters in the village, who was able to differentiate between the prisoner and the jailor or, as he put it, 'the kunai and the scroll it's sealed in'. It was also because he was incredible when it came to teaching students about the workings of weapons. By the time everybody had graduated from the Academy, even the worst students, who couldn't hit water if they jumped off the side of a boat, were hitting the center of the targets every so often. It was a great testament to the man's skill, and had the Hokage wondering how he'd never noticed the man before.

The new taijutsu instructor, Hyuuga Hitashi, received an even better response from the Academy students than Raiga had. He was, quite simply, the best taijutsu instructor that the Academy had ever seen (Maito Gai didn't count, simply because he was a Jounin, not an Academy teacher). During his sessions, he would stand in the middle of all of the students and use his Byakugan to observe them, allowing him to more accurately note the problems in his students' forms. He taught with a very nurturing style, helping the students that needed it most and critiquing where necessary. Hiashi had seen fit to tell Hitashi Naruto's heritage as a Hyuuga, and the two of them had developed a rather close relationship, much like an older and younger brother. It didn't hurt that Naruto and Hiashi had removed the Caged Bird Seal from the Academy's new taijutsu instructor.

Last but most certainly not least was Yuuhi Kurenai. Although she was a Jounin, she still opted to be an Academy instructor, if even for just a few years. The woman took the place of Mizuki as a sensei in the class that Naruto and Hinata were in, and proceeded to help the class in several important areas. Firstly, she purged the class of all the girls that were at the ninja academy solely for the sake of being near Sasuke. After the first day, where Kurenai talked about the dangers of being a kunoichi (rape, the sex trade, etc.), over half of the prospective kunoichi in the class left for more mundane professions. Not even a chance with 'their' Uchiha Sasuke was worth putting themselves in danger of being raped. Of course, the three prospective kunoichi that were completely immune to Kurenai's speech were Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, the first two much to the Uchiha's dismay.

Naruto would never be able to forget the day nearly one year ago when he let Kurenai on to the secret of his heritage. Her reaction was one of the funniest he had ever seen.

_Flashback no Jutsu, one year ago…_

It was nearing the end of the day at the Academy, and Naruto was slightly nervous. Today was the day that he, Hinata, Anko, and Hiashi had agreed that they would let Kurenai in on the secret of Naruto's true heritage, and to say that he was anxious would be an understatement. He wasn't at all sure how his future Jounin sensei and genjutsu mistress would react to the revelation. He already knew that she was completely impartial in regards to the Kyuubi, but he still had the jitters.

_**Nervous? Don't worry kit, it'll be fine.**_

_You keep saying that, but how can we know for sure? I mean, what if she tells somebody, or—_

_**Naruto! Relax! This is almost as bad as your Bunshin problem a year ago… good thing that Anko-chan thought of the Kage Bunshin, huh?**_

_Yeah, neechan sure can come through when you need her. She's even helping me mix her Hebi style with my Juken so that I can beat the Uchiha-teme! _

_**I know kit, but we need to lay low. We can't just have you show up one day guns blazing; that just wouldn't be right. At the very least we were able to pass off your not wearing those horrific orange jumpsuits anymore by saying Hinata took you shopping…**_

_Hey! Those jumpsuits were the only thing anybody would sell me, and according to ojisan I was sold them for five times the price!... um, Megami-chan?_

_**Yes?**_

_What's 'guns blazing' mean?_

Inside of her cage, the Kyuubi smacked herself in the forehead with her palm.

* * * * * * *

About two hours later, the trio of Kurenai, Hinata, and Naruto arrived at Training Ground 44, where the two Hyuuga cousins had been training after their days at the Academy. Kurenai was led inside despite her protests about the danger of the training ground, and was more than a little surprised when she was met with Hiashi and Anko.

"Anko-chan? Hiashi-sama? I don't wish to be rude, but what are you two doing here?"

"I am here training my daughter and nephew in the Juken, with Mitarashi-san helping teach the two of them ninjutsu."

Kurenai looked around confusedly for a second, looking for somebody that wasn't there. Naruto meanwhile was taking off his blue contact lenses while Kurenai was busy.

"Hiashi-sama?" Kurenai finally asked, her fruitless search given up. "Where is your nephew, Neji-san? I thought you said you were training him here?"

Anko took the time to burst into a fit of laughter, with Hinata giggling slightly while Hiashi and Naruto held their laughter in.

"I have more than one nephew, Kurenai-san. If you would turn around please?"

Kurenai was about to protest, and did as asked, turning around to face Hinata and Naruto. She got a glimpse of Naruto's eyes, and immediately stiffened, her gaze dropping to the contact lens case in his left hand. Her eyes immediately darted back to Naruto's, her crimson eyes locking gazes with Naruto's now lavender ones.

"Ne, Kurenai-sensei, do I have something on my face?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, not in the least fazed by the fact that his eyes were now a different color, and identified him as a member of the Hyuuga clan.

Kurenai fainted from surprise.

_Flashback no Jutsu Kai!_

Now, it was the day of the Genin exams, after which Naruto and Hinata would become true shinobi of Konoha, and the next week they would be paired with their third teammate. The two of them had three guesses on who their teammate would be.

The first and, in Naruto's opinion, least likely option would be Inuzuka Kiba. He would certainly fill the role of a tracker well, and would fit in especially well in a reconnaissance squad, which was what Kurenai's Team 8 would be. However, Naruto's reasoning for why they would not get Kiba was that Naruto's senses, thanks to his holding the Kyuubi, were just as acute as any Inuzuka's.

Naruto's next guess was Nara Shikamaru. His reasoning was that despite being an incredibly (no, wait… incredibly doesn't do it justice… **impossibly)** lazy student, Shikamaru's strategic intellect was nothing short of incredible. While using his Byakugan in old man Sarutobi's office, Naruto accidentally caught sight of the results for an IQ test taken by the lazy Nara. The results were in the high 200s, somewhere between 260 and 280, and that was because Shikamaru had gotten a lazy spell and didn't finish the whole IQ test. However, Hinata shot down the idea, saying that she'd heard from her father that the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan heads were pushing for another InoShikaCho trio, like the generation before them.

Hinata was wagering her money on the third Genin being Aburame Shino. His skills were also reconnaissance based, and he was quite intelligent, though not on the same level as the Nara (but then again, none of the other Genins were, not even Sakura). Also, due to the nature of the Aburame bug techniques and their being the living hives of entire colonies of kikai bugs, Shino was most likely to accept Naruto for holding Megami in the seal on his stomach. Naruto had told Hinata about Kyuubi about two years prior, and she had taken it rather well. Then again, it was nearly impossible for the Hyuuga heiress to hate anybody.

Banishing these thoughts from their minds, the two of them continued their normal walk to the Academy, unbothered by anything around them.

* * * * * * *

"Alright, today is the day you've all been waiting for, the Genin exams!" Iruka announced to the class. Everybody was ready to take the exam, including the ever-lazy Shikamaru, who for once was awake. In actuality, he was making a betting pool as to whether Naruto would pass the Genin exam or not. Naruto and Hinata declined the option to bet, and so it became a game of Shikamaru and Shino betting against everybody else in the class, with the two of them poised to receive fifty ryou from everybody else in the class should Naruto pass.

Naruto, on the other hand, was calmly waiting his turn, and his eyes had a slightly glazed-over look to them. In actuality, he was hiding his use of the Byakugan with a genjutsu that Kurenai had taught him.

Speaking of Kurenai, he had noticed that she had not been teaching their class for the past week, and Mizuki had taken her place for the time being. Taking note of this fact, Naruto went back to waiting for his name to be called.

"Hyuuga Hinata!"

Hinata heard her name called out, and went up to the front. She quickly performed a flawless Bunshin, creating three clones and passing the exam, receiving and tying her new headband around her neck in the process. When she returned to her seat, Naruto congratulated her, giving several of the girls in the class the idea that Naruto and Hinata might be a couple. Hinata would enjoy showing them just how wrong they were once her cousin got to reveal his heritage.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto was the last one to go. He quickly got up from his seat after a hushed whisper of "good luck" from Hinata, going to the front.

"Alright Naruto," Iruka started, "I'm going to need you to create three Bunshins for me." Naruto scowled before putting his fingers in a familiar cross shape, and preparing to think one word of the jutsu while saying the others.

_Kage…_

"…Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Suddenly several puffs of smoke appeared in the examination area. Iruka and Mizuki waved away the smoke to reveal five Naruto clones surrounding Iruka, five surrounding Mizuki, and another five around Naruto, fifteen in total.

"We can't let him pass," Mizuki said suddenly. Everybody in the class turned to him, but it was Shino who spoke up.

"The graduation requirements set by the Academy were to create at least three Bunshin capable of use in combat. Uzumaki-san instead created fifteen clones without any noticeable physical exhaustion, all of which seem combat ready. I see no logical basis for your claim that Uzumaki-san not be allowed to pass."

Mizuki was seething inside, and quickly grabbed a kunai from his pocket before going straight for Naruto.

"Die demon!"

Before Mizuki could take two steps forward, he had five clones restraining him, much to the surprise of the rest of the class. None of them, save for Hinata, had ever seen a solid Bunshin before. Iruka himself was in shock.

_Kage Bunshin? But that's a Jounin level kinjutsu! How did Naruto learn it, and how did he create fifteen clones? Most Jounin can't even make ten!_

Naruto quickly had his clones shove Mizuki up against the wall in such a position that when Naruto faced him, nobody could see the ebony-streaked blonde's front.

"Well, Mizuki-teme? Still say I don't graduate?"

"Demons like you don't deserve to live! You should have died when you were born!" Mizuki hissed in an evil tone, intending that Naruto be the only one to hear. Said whisker-marked shinobi faced Mizuki, and prepared for a strike that would crush Mizuki's rib cage, likely puncturing a lung in the process.

"Wrong answer, teme. I don't want to see you after ojisan and neechan finish with you," Naruto said before activating his Byakugan for a second, the veins bulging around his eyes. Mizuki's eyes narrowed before he collapsed unconscious from the pain of Naruto's strike, and Naruto's clones dropped the Chuunin to the floor, watching as some blood dribbled out of his mouth.

"Uh… well, that was rather, um, impressive Naruto. Congratulations on graduating."

Naruto flashed a V for victory to Iruka, and grabbed his headband before tying it around his neck like Hinata had.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei!"

Up in the seats, Uchiha Sasuke was silently fuming. _Where did the dobe learn a jutsu like that?! Solid clones that can fight? He _will_ teach that jutsu to me; I have to start somewhere, and I must have power if I'm ever going to defeat my brother!_

After Iruka's long lecture on being real shinobi and the importance of life and death in their line of work, class was dismissed, Naruto and Hinata left as quickly as possible, and Sasuke raced to catch up to Naruto. Finally, he caught up to Naruto and, grasping him by the shoulder, whirled him around to face him.

"Dobe, what kind of jutsu was that?" Naruto laughed at the obvious jealousy on Sasuke's face.

"That was the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It makes solid clones that can actually fight!"

Sasuke's right hand balled into a fist as his left grabbed Naruto by the collar, pulling him closer.

"I demand that you teach me that jutsu!" Naruto just laughed, and Sasuke punched the ebony-streaked blonde in a fit of rage, only to have him burst into a cloud of smoke.

_What the—_

Sasuke didn't get the chance to finish his thought, as the real Naruto had appeared behind him and, using his Byakugan for a near unnoticeable period of time, pressed a tenketsu on the back of Sasuke's neck, knocking him unconscious. He deactivated his Byakugan and, laughing up a storm, went off to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate with Anko and Hinata.

* * * * * * *

_Later that night…_

In his prison cell, Mizuki was currently attempting to ignore the burning pain in his chest while awaiting interrogation as to his actions earlier in the day. He had attempted to sabotage Naruto's Genin exam by putting a genjutsu on his test to make the questions appear different, and after seeing Naruto use the Byakugan if even for the smallest of moments, Mizuki saw how that plan had failed. But he still had no idea as to how the 'demon brat' had learned the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He knew the brat was close with the Tokubetsu Jounin Mitarashi Anko; could she have taught him the jutsu.

The door to his cell finally opened, and Mizuki stood up slowly. As the door opened, he saw Hyuuga Hiashi in the doorway, and sneered.

"Hyuuga-sama, I have some terrible news. The demon brat has stolen the Byakugan! He—"

Mizuki was cut off by a Juken strike to the stomach that sent him to his knees, and worsened his internal bleeding. Looking up, he saw the Byakugan-enhanced eyes of a furious Hyuuga Hiashi.

"I am well aware that Namikaze Hyuuga Naruto has the Byakugan. He is, after all, my nephew. And now, for your crimes… you shall die."

Mizuki's eyes widened at the realization as the events of four years prior suddenly became clear, especially the messages upon the walls. He was cut from his musings by a massive killing intent that suddenly flooded the area, and barely saw as Hiashi rushed in for a powerful attack.

"Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes! Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!"

Hiashi landed the final blow of his jutsu and sent Mizuki flying against the wall, coughing up blood all over his now tattered clothing. Looking up, he saw Hiashi step aside as a new figure entered the room: Mitarashi Anko.

"Hello, Mizuki-_kun_" Anko said in her sickeningly evil voice. "You know, I don't really like when people hurt my otouto…"

Anko quickly pulled out a kunai and cut off Mizuki's belt, letting his pants drop. She pulled down what else he was wearing and quickly took the kunai to Mizuki's nether regions. One slash and a scream in soprano and the Chuunin collapsed unconscious, dying two minutes later from a combination of blood loss and drowning in his own blood.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow… it has been way too long since the last chapter. I know that I don't exactly have an excuse for it, but all I can say is that after I posted the last chapter real life hit me like a storm. All of my classes were piling on all the homework that they could, and then combine that with final exams and you've got a very unhappy me. Add into that the fact that I had to cram for three days to finish my scuba certification course material that I should have spread out over three months… yeah. At the moment I am on a cruise ship in Alaska while typing up this chapter, and have been on this ship for the past… week? No… five, six days. So, yeah.**

**Anyways, I'll probably have at least one other chapter to post immediately after this one because of the spare time I have at the moment, and I hope to get through the Wave arc soon and get on to the Naruto x FemHaku that won in the poll and has my own personal stamp of approval. Naruto's secondary chakra nature will be Suiton along with Fuuton, and one person got the implication of what happens when you cross Juken and ice-nature chakra. It's not pretty to say the least. If you need another hint, go see how Ali Larter's character Tracy Strauss in Heroes kills people. That's it on the most destructive level possible. Only one person has figured it out so far, and I want to see more people figure it out.**

**Anyways, new poll: Sasuke is going to lose to Naruto in the Chuunin exam prelims. How do you want him to fail?**

**A) One-hit knockout from Naruto. (This is what I was planning, but I'll see all your opinions)**

**B) A Hyouton jutsu learned with Haku's help to freeze Sasuke (or at least part of him) solid**

**C) You suggest a method! For this choice please remember that I'm not having Naruto reveal that he has the Byakugan until his fight with Neji.**

**Last but not least, I am going to try and recommend stories that I personally enjoyed to other people in this section right here at the end of every AN. This chapter's shout out goes to…**

_**An Uzumaki Amongst The Dunes**_** by pudgypudge. It's a really good story that I found I couldn't stop reading if I tried. I highly recommend checking it out and any of his other stories.**

**Let's end this AN here. On with the show!... Er… Fanfic!**

*** * * * * * ***

The next day, all of the new graduates returned to the Academy to discover the rosters of their Genin teams and who their Jounin sensei would be. Naruto and Hinata were lucky in that they already knew that they would be together on the same Genin team with Kurenai as their sensei, but the two were still debating whether they would get Shikamaru or Shino. They argued during the entire time that they were walking to the Academy, when at the entrance Megami had the idea that maybe they would get Sakura or Ino. He paled instantly and mumbled something about Kyuubi having an evil sense of humor. Hinata decided that she didn't want to know.

The two of them entered the classroom and sat down at their seats, with Naruto taking up his regular seat next to a certain emo king and resuming active duty as his fangirl repellant. Sasuke shot him the briefest of glares before returning to his brooding, a sign that he still hadn't forgotten about Naruto's humiliating him the day prior. Naruto just looked at him with his usual foxy grin while the Kyuubi was boiling with anger as she remembered what the Uchiha had said.

_**Kit, promise me one thing?**_

_Huh?_

_**As soon as you get the chance, please give the duck-ass Uchiha the worst beating of his life? I'd do it myself but… hey that gives me an idea…**_

_Awesome, now I've got even more reason to look for a chance!... Hey, wait… what idea?_

_**Oh, nothing. I'll be done in a few hours. Talk to you then Naru-chan!**_

Kyuubi receded to the back of Naruto's mindscape as she worked on whatever idea she had thought up, leaving Naruto to seethe at being called his least favorite nickname as Shino and Shikamaru entered the room. Shikamaru was counting bills in his hands while Shino was wearing a new pair of sunglasses that were darker than his previous ones if such a thing was possible. The other members of the class shot those two some dark looks, especially Sakura and Ino; those two had each bet three hundred ryou that Naruto wouldn't pass along with an additional hundred each that Sasuke would have the best performance. However, considering that Naruto had used a Jounin-level jutsu and incapacitated a Chuunin technically before he was considered a Genin, the two fangirls had to pay through the nose for their misplaced faith in Konoha's 'beloved' Uchiha.

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Iruka's voice bellowed from an enormous demonic head to silence the various side conversations going on throughout the classroom as the scarred Chuunin entered the room. "Good! Now that I have your attention, I'm going to be reading off team assignments. Please listen closely because I won't repeat them!"

The class collectively leaned closer as Iruka pulled out a sheet of paper with the team assignments written on it.

"Team Seven: Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your Jounin sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

The bubblegum-haired girl jumped up from her seat screaming about how true love conquered all while Kiba and Akamaru groaned as one and Sasuke furiously wrote something on a piece of paper before handing it to Naruto. The blond looked down at the paper and had to choke back laughter when he read it, especially after seeing the ever-deepening scowl on the Uchiha's face.

_Kill me now. _

Megami was cackling in the back of Naruto's mindscape, so much so that she nearly… actually, that's a story for another time. Naruto sent his mind back to what Iruka was saying.

"Team Eight: Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, and Aburame Shino. Your Jounin sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai."

Money changed hands between Choji and Shikamaru, with the Nara on the receiving end. He had bet twenty ryou that Shino was going to be with Naruto and Hinata and not him. How he knew that Naruto and Hinata would be on the same team?... He didn't.

"Team Ten: Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru. Your Jounein sensei is Sarutobi Asuma."

A loud thud rang out through the classroom followed by another three or four as Ino rammed her head into the desk in disgust. Naruto and Sasuke were snickering as Hinata looked at the blond sympathetically.

"Please return here in one hour to meet your Jounin sensei. What you do in that hour is up to you."

* * * * * * *

One hour later, everybody was back in the classroom and awaiting the arrival of their Jounin sensei. One Genin in particular was currently assessing his current situation and trying to make heads or tails of what was going on.

To say Shino was confused would not capture the gravity of the situation. From what he knew, teams were assembled so that they balanced out each other's abilities. From what he knew of his own abilities and Hinata's, the two of them would be best suited to a reconnaissance squad meant to gather information, and even possibly an assassination squad. Even the specialty of his Jounin sensei, genjutsu, seemed to support this hypothesis. Combined with the fact that his Kikai insects and Hinata's Byakugan made for one of the most powerful reconnaissance combinations possible, his hypothesis was all but confirmed. The one thing that threw off this thought was Naruto.

From what he knew of Naruto, the boy had absolutely no abilities that could be used for information gathering. The only ability that he knew Naruto to possess was the ability to create solid clones that could fight, and even then that would only work as a distraction. But then again, there was next to nothing in his mental folder titled 'Naruto'. Just the day prior his Kikai insects had reported Naruto's use of a small, almost unnoticeable genjutsu on his person that nobody would have detected without either an extreme specialty in genjutsu or some form of aid such as a doujutsu. The knowledge that Naruto had used a genjutsu alone wasn't enough to indicate an anomaly on its own, but combined with the fact that Naruto supposedly had nowhere near the amount of chakra control to create a genjutsu along with the fact that until the day of the test nobody knew that he could create any form of Bunshin whatsoever threw a monkey wrench into the machinery that was Shino's thought process.

The Kikai wielder could only think of two possible conclusions: either Naruto had learned the Kage Bunshin and the genjutsu he'd used the day prior, or the ebony-streaked blond had been holding himself back during his whole time at the Academy, much like Shino had. If the Aburame had so wanted it, he could have taken the spot of top Shinobi away from Uchiha Sasuke much like Shikamaru could have; however it was a poor idea to give away knowledge of one's strengths and weaknesses too early, especially since he didn't know if any of his comrades would eventually be an opponent of his at some time. The first option that he'd come up with was highly unlikely all told, which left him with the theory that Naruto was holding back throughout his years at the shinobi Academy.

There wasn't any more time for his thinking as the door to their classroom opened up and a woman walked, closely followed by a man. The woman had raven-black hair that cascaded down her frame like a waterfall, and had piercing red eyes that only served to accentuate her beauty. The man was relatively plain in appearance without anything to make him stand out in a crowd aside from the fact that there was an unlit cigarette in his mouth and a lighter in his hands just waiting to be used.

"Team Eight?" The red-eyed woman looked at the class, a small smile gracing her lips as she spotted her three Genin. "Come with me please."

Hinata, Naruto and Shino stood up from their chairs and moved to follow Kurenai out of the classroom, straight to training ground number eight.

* * * * * * *

Once the four of them arrived in the training ground, Kurenai sat down on the ground and motioned for Naruto, Shino and Hinata to do the same. When the three of them had seated themselves comfortably, she began to speak.

"Hello you three. I hope you all still remember me despite my being gone for a week?"

The three Genin nodded, and Hinata smiled softly. She especially enjoyed having Kurenai as her sensei at the Academy.

"Good to hear it. I know that all four of us already know each other, but let's reintroduce ourselves anyways. I'll go first. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. My likes include creating new genjutsu, reading books and beating up perverts. I dislike perverts and people who think that women can't be as good of shinobi as men. My dream is to prove that women can be as good or better of shinobi than men. Hinata, would you like to go first?"

Hinata nodded, and Kurenai would be pleased to find that Hinata's stutter had disappeared.

"Ano, my name is Hyuuga Hinata. I like training and pressing flowers. I dislike those who judge people solely for their abilities and also those who dislike others without a good reason. My dream is to become a strong leader for my clan and hopefully change it for the better."

Kurenai smiled; Hinata had a strong will and a good heart, and the genjutsu mistress was sure that the girl would make a good leader for her clan.

"Next, Naruto."

Said ebony-streaked blond looked up and rubbed his itchy eyes slightly before speaking.

"My name is… Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, trying different types of ramen, pranking, training, and my family. I dislike the fact that it takes three minutes to cook instant ramen, and anybody who hates somebody without good reason. My dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever!"

Hinata and Kurenai already knew what Naruto would say, but Shino was slightly puzzled over Naruto's hesitation when saying his name, as though it weren't really the right one. It was just another question that he had to write into his mental 'Naruto' riddle.

"Lastly, Shino, you're up."

"My name is Aburame Shino. My likes are practicing my clan techniques and discovering new types of insects. My dislikes are people who kill insects indiscriminately. My goal is to become proficient in my clan techniques and surpass all Aburame before me."

Shino said this in a monotone voice that made Kurenai wonder if it was even possible for the boy to show emotion in any way at all. She obviously hadn't seen the genre of book that Shino secretly read in the privacy of his own home… and no, it isn't Icha Icha Paradise.

Kurenai sat up straight, very pleased with her team. Naruto and Hinata both had the Byakugan, which was an incredible aid when it came to reconnaissance and fighting in general, while Shino's ability to gather intelligence likely surpassed that of nearly any other genin in his age group, and that combined with his ability for rational thought made him capable of becoming an excellent ninja. Now, if only she could get Naruto to trust Shino with his secrets, then she would have the most tightly knit team to ever grace Konoha.

"Well, now that we all know each other a little better, I'm going to give the three of you a choice. Now, normally we administer our Genin exams the day after we meet our teams to determine whether or not they are capable of working together as a team, but I'm going to give you three the option to either take it now or wait till tomorrow. Give yourselves a moment to talk amongst yourselves before choosing."

The three Genin pulled in closer for a huddle… well, actually, Naruto and Hinata moved closer to the ever-stoic Shino.

"What do you guys think? I say we take this thing now cause we'll blow her away!" Naruto, of course, was ever optimistic.

"It would be the logical decision to attempt the examination today instead of waiting until tomorrow. We are prepared at the moment, and while the chances are small, there is the possibility that one of us could injure ourselves between the space of time between tomorrow morning and now to such an extent as to render us unable to perform adequately. The deleterious effects of attempting it now are outweighed by the possible gain, such as an extra day to strengthen ourselves."

Naruto stood with his mouth slightly agape, trying to process what Shino had said when Hinata piped up.

"He said that taking it now would be smarter, and I agree."

"Well then what are we waiting for?! Let's take it!"

"I see you three have decided then?"

The three Genin jumped up in surprise, Shino included, as they noticed that their sensei was standing right beside them. She had apparently used a genjutsu to make it appear as though she hadn't moved from her position when in fact she had been listening to her three charges. She received fervent nods from Naruto and Hinata and a nearly imperceptible nod from Shino.

"Good to hear. Now, unlike any of the other Genin teams I'm going to give you three options for your Genin test to correspond with the three primary uses for a squad composed like yours. The first choice for you Genin test has to do with your skill in reconnaissance, the most important function of this squad. Your task will be to discover one facet of Maito Gai's famous unbreakable sunset genjutsu by noon tomorrow."

Naruto and Hinata paled considerably at Kurenai's mention of the Maito Gai "Youthful Sunset" genjutsu. It had blinded the two of them several times during their daily training and was considered to be the most dangerous genjutsu to use against a Hyuuga. It left the cousins blinded for anywhere from five to thirty minutes if seen with active Byakugan. They fervently shook their heads, the pallor of their skin worrying Shino.

"Option two," Kurenai continued, "will test your capabilities as either an assassination or retrieval squad. In the same manner that you would gather information without being discovered, you would be able to eliminate a target or recover an object with ease and not be discovered in the process. For this, your task is to steal Hatake Kakashi's book without having all three of you caught in the process."

The gleam in Kurenai's eye at the prospect of burning the cyclopic Jounin's book in front of him was so brilliant that the three Genin could guess what was running through their sensei's mind without any trouble. Naruto was thinking the exact same thoughts; he hated perverts in any way, and made it a point to figure out where his closet pervert of an uncle hid his Icha Icha collection. After all, being a close friend of the author's student made it easy for Hiashi to secure copies of the smut novel.

"Option three," Kurenai said, shaking the three Genin from their various trains of thought, "will test your abilities to perform a preemptive strike. A preemptive strike would be used in war to weaken the enemy prior to engagement, whether it be directly or indirectly. For this task, you must steal Mitarashi Anko's daily box of dango, which she will be purchasing an hour from now, and keep it from her for at least an hour. Now that you have heard all the options, which will you choose?"

To say Naruto and Hinata's eyes lit up after hearing the third option would be an understatement. To say that their eyes closely resembled neon signs would be a more accurate description, but still not quite able to capture just how eager they were. Despite his incredibly thick sunglasses, Shino took notice quite readily.

"I believe that I speak for Naruto-san and Hinata-san as well when I say that option three would be the most logical choice." Kurenai sighed at her team's choice.

"Option three it is. Remember, you must keep Anko away from the dango for at least an hour unless she decided to give up, at which point you would pass the exam. Good luck." As her Genin started walking away, Kurenai muttered under her breath "and I was really hoping to burn Hatake's book too…"

Team Eight collectively sweatdropped. Megami snickered in Naruto's mindscape.

* * * * * * *

Naruto, Shino and Hinata had been lying in wait for nearly an hour now, and Anko was due to arrive any time now. The plan had been worked out twenty minutes in advance, and was now waiting to be put into action.

Naruto and Hinata knew Anko better than more than ninety nine percent of the populace of Konoha and were also two of the only ones that she would not mercilessly torment for stealing her dango. It was a well-known fact that dango was as sacred to Anko as ramen was to Naruto or pocky was to Uchiha Itachi, although Itachi's addiction to pocky was only known by his ANBU squad. What they didn't know was that Anko was addicted to dango in the way that a person would be addicted to cigarettes: it had gone further than just a want, it was a _need_, and thus, Anko was prone to withdrawal symptoms. Naruto had been trying to wean his older sister off of dango but so far had only succeeded in keeping her at one box a week. Apparently Kurenai didn't know this as of yet, since her usual dango time was replaced with time spent in the Torture & Interrogation unit six out of seven days a week.

Today, luckily for Team Eight, was Anko's 'dango day', and also the day that she would be going through her withdrawal. Naruto and Hinata knew that they need only keep Anko away from the dango for five minutes before withdrawal kicked in and she would be weakened.

It was at this time that Anko arrived at the dango stand and sat down at the stool, ordering her weekly box of dango before pulling out a kunai and cleaning her nails with it. Five minutes later, just as the box of dango was about finished cooking, Hinata approached Anko on a silent signal from Shino, and on the same signal Naruto created a Kage Bunshin, henge'ing it into an exact duplication of the dango box.

"Ano… Anko-sensei?"

The purple-haired kunoichi whirled to face Hinata, who was nervously twiddling her fingers. Instead of verbally acknowledging Hinata, Anko motioned with her kunai for the Genin to continue.

"Ano… I was wondering… could you show me your Sen'ei Jashu no Jutsu?"

To say that Anko was confused would be an understatement. She shrugged her shoulders and put the kunai away and started making hand seals, facing Hinata. While Anko was making hand seals, her dango was placed on the counter only for it to be replaced with Naruto's Kage Bunshin. Anko finished her hand seals and pointed her arms at Hinata, chanting the name of the technique as two snakes came from each of Anko's trench coat sleeves and flew towards Hinata. The indigo-haired Hyuuga smiled softly before being replaced with a log, which was constricted by the four snakes.

Anko raised an eyebrow and quickly picked up her 'dango' when the Kage Bunshin dispersed into a cloud of smoke, giving away Naruto's presence in the process. A vein bulged on the snake mistress' head and she pulled out for kunai.

"I'm going to get you for this otouto!" Naruto ran away as fast as he could with Anko giving chase, Hinata and Shino not far behind.

Kurenai appeared from out of her genjutsu and checked her stopwatch. "Fifty minutes to go…"

* * * * * * *

Anko's mad chase through Konoha tore a path of destruction through the hidden village's market district, destroying two merchant's carts, a pocky store, breaking the special's sign for Yamanako Florists and barely skirting Ichiraku Ramen by maybe five feet. Neither Anko nor Naruto was willing to give in and end the chase, while Hinata kept trying to land a Juken strike on Anko to disable her while Shino was coating the kunoichi with Kikai bugs and amassing a large amount of his hive for some other purpose.

After about twenty minutes of the chase, Naruto appeared in the training ground of Team Gai and the sight that greeted him left a sinking feeling in his stomach as all the blood drained from his face.

Anko burst from the foliage with a kunai raised to drop Naruto's pants and show the world his toad-emblazoned boxers when she too saw the sight and dropped her kunai, an enormous bead of sweat rolling its way down the back of her head. Shino appeared after Anko and quickly performed a Kawarimii to replace the dango box in Naruto's hands with another 'box' that was formed from Kikai insects. Hinata and an invisible Kurenai followed, both of who paled horribly and shivered in fright in anticipation of what was about to happen.

None of them could stop what was about to happen.

"YOSH! MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT LEE! YOU HAVE NEARLY OPENED THE GATE OF JOY! YOUR GLORIOUS FLAMES OF YOUTH HAVE MADE ME PROUD MY PUPIL!"

"YOSH! GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

Off in the distance, TenTen could be seen readying her Soshouryu technique in a vain attempt to stop Lee and Gai while Neji… was staring blankly at the scene in front of him with a look that read "Oh hell no."

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"FLAMES OF YOUTH!"

TenTen was just about to execute her technique when Lee and Gai embraced and a sunset with a beach in the foreground appeared behind the two spandex-clad taijutsu specialists. Neji had looked away at the last second with perfect timing to avoid the near-fatal genjutsu. Nobody else was so lucky.

Naruto took the sight head-on and dropped the Kikai 'dango box' as he collapsed to the floor, moaning in pain and holding his aching eyes. Anko barely avoided the effects of the genjutsu and shielded her eyes with one hand as she grabbed the 'dango' in her other. Hinata's eyes had been covered by Kurenai's hand at the last second to protect the young girl while Shino was… unaffected. He observed the proceedings while his Kikai inspected the scene.

"It would seem that the spandex that their jumpsuits are crafted from is reactive to Gai-san's chakra, producing the genjutsu that we have seen."

Kurenai stood straight, greatly resembling a fish as her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Anko's hand trembled as she reached for a kunai, intent on cutting that horrible spandex off of Maito Gai and his pupil so that she wouldn't have her position in Torture & Interrogation taken by the 'Green Beasts'. Naruto had recovered and joined his two teammates in staring at their sensei.

After five minutes of gaping awkwardly, during which Lee and Gai had run off to circle all fo Konoha two hundred times and were currently on their third lap, Kurenai recovered and looked at her students with pride.

"You three… pass. Meet at Training Ground Eight tomorrow for some quick training and then your first mission. And… Shino?" The Aburame looked at his sensei. "Give Anko-chan back her dango, would you?"

Anko looked at Shino the way he imagined a snake would look at a hungry mouse. He handed the dango to the purple-haired kunoichi and ran away as fast as he could. Enormous beads of sweat rolled down Naruto and Hinata's heads at the sight.

*** * * * * * ***

**And here ends the ****edited**** version of Chapter 5. Those who have already read the previous version will see that the main difference is in Team Eight's Genin test… and it's a **_**big**_** difference.**

**The kitsune summoning contract will still be in this story… but it will come into play much later.**

**As for the questions of a few reviewers about Hyouton jutsu, there is something I must point out as to the Mokuton and Hyouton Kekkei Genkai:**

**Wielders of those two Kekkei Genkai are born with the two prerequisite chakra natures required for performing Hyouton and Mokuton jutsu, as well as **_**knowledge on a subliminal level as to the process of combining the two requisite natures to form the sub-element.**_** It is still possible for somebody without the Kekkei Genkai to form Hyouton or Mokuton chakra; however, doing so would be incredibly difficult. I was going to reveal it later, but the only reason Naruto will be able to perform Hyouton jutsu as easily as he'll be able to is because of Kyuubi.**__**Otherwise, it would take him several years of training to be able to simply form enough Hyouton nature chakra for a jutsu.**

**Coming up next: Land of Waves Arc!**


	6. AN Review Response Rant Chapter SORRY!

**Sorry to get everybody's hopes up but **_**this is not a chapter**_**. It is a review response/rant posting, so sorry to tell you.**

_**Firstly, I edited Chapter 5 so you can all use the review for this chapter to review the new version of Chapter 5 if you'd like.**_

**Second off, review/question responses:**

**Cheezygeezer: I'm fairly certain I explained that the seal was temporary. The purpose of it was to keep his Hyuuga blood from coming into play. If he reactivated the seal, goodbye Byakugan until it's deactivated. That's why I have him use contacts and not a seal, and a Henge can be detected and broken.**

**Shadan: The reason Naruto can't do the Bunshin no Jutsu is because he has too damn much chakra to be able to use so little for that jutsu. Think about it this way: most people's chakra systems are like wells. Naruto's is like a dam. Bunshin no Jutsu is a glass of water. You can fill the glass from a well easily, but trying to fill it from a dam is damn near impossible (crappy pun not intended). Tree walking is completely different from Bunshin so don't compare the two. As for the summon's getting worn out two things: (A) that part is gone and (B) there are two ways to remove genjutsu: the chakra pulse or cutting your own chakra flow. The reason it got worn out is because Kurenai's genjutsu are all really powerful and would take a lot more chakra to break. A normal chakra pulse from a normal Chuunin even wouldn't break hers unless they used much more than necessary, at least from what I've seen.**

**All questions about Hyouton: The only reason that Naruto will be able to use Hyouton jutsu is thanks to a certain fuzzball named Kyuubi. I'll explain the specifics during the story, but dwell on this: "It is said that one swing of its mighty tails could cause tsunamis and topple mountains." (That's not the exact quote but oh well) Rockslides are common in areas with glaciers because the water inside the rocky areas freezes and then melts, leaving empty space. I've given you the basics as to how that's possible, now you all need to put it together yourselves.**

**DarknessKen: Thanks for bringing that up; I'm working on some Naruto/Sasuke interactions at the moment but am having some trouble thinking them up without Naruto giving away his status as a member of the Hyuuga clan. If you have any ideas please PM them to me.**

**HolyKnight5: …Wow. Hiashi crying Soun Tendo-style just gave me the funniest mental image you can imagine, and I'm actually going to put in the story that Hiashi is a closet perv because of that comment. Now since Kyuubi is a chick in my story I'll have to work out what happens when he first sees her… *****Evil cackle***

**Another concern is that Naruto is much too strong for Haku, Zabuza and the like to be very difficult of a fight. This can easily be fixed as such:**

**(A) The Demon Brothers, Haku, and Zabuza can all be more powerful than in the manga.**

**(B) Zabuza gets another accomplice. This I'm not sure how I'd pull off so if you all want this then I'll need suggestions. One idea I got from another fic is another Kaguya (Shikotsu Miyaku) but I don't want to do that for fear of possible plagiarism. So any ideas would be nice.**

**(C) We can get another nukenin to drop in. I was thinking Aoi Rokusho so that they can recover the Raijin sword, which if I choose to do so I will be giving to either Shino or Haku. It would work well if I make Shino's chakra Raiton but also well for Haku since Suiton jutsu + Raijin = Crispy Fried Enemies ©**

**Anyways, now for my part rant, part shout out:**

**I'd like to give a shout out to two reviewers in particular. They are:**

**-- Extrarius Scriptor**

**-- Markami**

**Despite Markami's somewhat harsh review of this most recent chapter, these two get my favorite reviewer award (hands e-medal that doesn't exist… meh). Why? I can tell you that the answer is one word long.**

**Drumroll please!**

…

……**.**

………

_**Criticism.**_

**Now, a lot of people don't take criticism well. But then again, a lot of people can't differentiate between flaming and criticism. Flamers can go take their complaints and shove them where the sun don't shine. Now, criticism… I love criticism. Why? Because if people are telling me what they don't like or what I'm doing wrong, then what can I do? **_**I can fix it.**_** Extrarius' reviews are helping me guide the future of the story with his Positive and Negative section. Markami's review gave me the inspiration to rewrite the Genin test portion of Chapter 5, and I hope that I can expect more of those critical reviews from him in the future. **

**To future reviewers: I don't want you to sugar coat anything. If you have a problem with something that I've written, say it to me straight, say it to my face, even go so far as to outright say that you don't like the story. Just tell me **_**why**_**. If I don't get criticism and honest critique then I can't improve as a writer, and if I can't improve as a writer then the quality of my stories will not improve either.**

…

**Well, now that that's over, I'll remind you all once more that I've posted an updated version of Chapter 5 for all of your enjoyment. Read & Review people, but above all, **_**ENJOY**_**.**

**--Your Friendly Neighborhood Francophone Los Angelino**


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